OBJECTIVE
In a democratic society a prison is primarily a servant of the judiciary which acts on be-half of the community. The main task of the prison administration is to hold in decent and humane conditions those men and women who are sent to it by a properly consti-tuted court. This task is carried out by prison staff. However, it is important to recognize that prison staff also have important human rights which should be upheld by the State.
The objective of this section is to discuss the implications of this principle and examine the interplay between staff rights and staff obligations and duties. Many of these stan-dards are discussed throughout the Manual.
ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES
All law enforcement officials, including prison staff, shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.
The administration of the prison system should be in civilian hands. It should not be part of a military structure.
Personnel shall be carefully selected for their integrity, humanity, professional capac-ity and personal suitabilcapac-ity.
The prison administration should be diligent in informing the personnel and the public that prison work is a social service of great importance.
Personnel shall be appointed as full-time prison officers, with civilian status, salaries adequate to attract and retain suitable men and women, and favourable employ-ment benefits and conditions of service.
Both law enforcement agencies and prison authorities shall not discriminate against women in recruitment, hiring, training, assignment, promotion, salary and other ca-reer and administrative matters.
Both law enforcement agencies and prison authorities shall recruit sufficient num-bers of women to ensure fair community representation and the protection of the rights of women prisoners.
Personnel shall have an adequate standard of education and intelligence and shall be trained before entering on duty and while they are in service.
Personnel shall conduct themselves in a manner which commands the respect of prisoners.
Personnel shall include, as far as possible, sufficient numbers of specialists such as psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as social workers, teachers and trade instruc-tors.
The director of an institution should be adequately qualified for his or her task, ap-pointed on a full-time basis and resident on the premises or in the immediate vicinity.
The director, his or her deputy and the majority of the other personnel shall be able to speak the language of the majority of the prisoners.
There shall be adequate medical personnel resident close to the institution.
In an institution for both men and women, the part of the institution set aside for women should be under the authority of a responsible woman officer and women prisoners shall be attended and supervised only by women officers.
Prison officers shall not use force, except in self-defence or in cases of attempted escape or active or passive physical resistance to an order based on law or regula-tions.
Officers who have recourse to force must use only minimum force and must report the incident immediately to the prison director.
Staff in direct contact with prisoners should not usually be armed.
Law enforcement officials shall respect the confidentiality of information in their possession unless the performance of their duty or the needs of justice strictly re-quire otherwise.
Law enforcement officials shall ensure the full protection of the health of persons in their custody.
Firearms shall not be used against persons in custody or detention except in the following circumstances:
39. – In self-defence or defence of others against imminent threat of death or serious injury;
39. – When strictly necessary to prevent the escape of a person presenting a grave threat to life.
Intentional lethal use of force or firearms shall be permitted only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect human life.
These principles should be presented visually and remain on display throughout the session.
BASIS IN INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Exercise:
Using the Compilation of Instruments, the trainees should work in pairs in order to dis-cover the basis for each of these principles.
IMPLICATIONS
Some of this information will be familiar to the trainees already. This section emphasizes the need for a professional and independent prison service, with a workforce that re-flects the population of the community.
PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe provides a very succinct and well-organized list of recommendations, which should be emphasized and reviewed care-fully.
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
A list of topics is provided in the Manual.
Methodology:
The trainees should be divided into small groups for discussion. Each group should be given two topics to discuss, reporting back afterwards.
Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion:
39. – The roles of police and prison staff are related but different;
39. – The task of a police officer is to detect and secure the arrest of criminals. A judgement about presumed guilt is part of the process;
39. – The role of prison officials is to hold humanely those offenders who have been sentenced to imprisonment by the courts. It is not for them to judge possible guilt or innocence;
39. – What they have in common is that neither group has the power to punish;
39. – The role of the military, in any country, is to protect the State, usually from external enemies;
39. – The task of prison staff is to implement the directions of judicial authorities. In carrying out this task, they act on behalf of civil society;
39. – The international instruments stress that, in a democracy, basic human rights are inalienable. In order adequately to protect human rights, it is imperative that the functions of the military do not include keeping civil order;
39. – Improving the standing of prison staff with the local community will depend very much on the area in question, but it is likely to include the perceived status of the staff. This will be judged on matters such as pay and conditions and required entry qualifications;
39. – The openness of the prison and the involvement of the prison staff in community matters will also be relevant;
39. – No two prisons are the same. There is an argument for allowing prison staff to experience a variety of institutions in the name of staff training;
39. – There is a risk of overfamiliarity and complacency if staff remain in one prison for too long. In particular, there tends to develop an idea that they know all there is to know and cannot learn new ideas. This can contribute to a closed state of mind and a punitive environment;
39. – From the opposing viewpoint it may be said that long-serving staff can add a feeling of stability to an institution;
39. – The key to a motivated and competent staff group is to keep them learning new things, developing new ideas and using their initiative;
39. – Many of the people who are sent to prison do not present themselves at their best while behind bars. It is usual for them to take out their anger and frustration on prison staff who look after them every day. It is therefore not surprising that prison officers’ view of prisoners is sometimes not very positive;
39. – Prison staff need a great deal of support because of the nature of their daily tasks. This is not to do with any weakness, but with the psychological dynamic of the work they do on behalf of the community;
Prison staff should not be denied their civil and political rights;
39. – Discuss the implications of the right to strike for prison staff, keeping in mind the specific needs of an institution like a prison and the impact of a strike on the conditions of prisoners;
39. – Staff/management relations must be good enough to instil confidence in all staff members.
CASE STUDIES Methodology:
It is recommended that the trainees be divided into five groups, each being given one case study to work on.
In order for the maximum benefit to be gained from the exercise, there should be a brief reporting back session, allowing all trainees to learn from the deliberations.
Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion:
CASE STUDY 1
39. – An important means of implementing human rights standards is to raise the awareness of people in the particular profession. In this instance it is the police who, intent on achieving the goals of their profession, may have overstepped the mark and infringed human rights directives;
39. – A joint training session is a possible first step, with personnel from both the police and prison staff being brought together to work through the international instruments. For this to succeed it would need the uncompromising backing of the senior staff from both disciplines;
39. – On a practical point, it would perhaps be appropriate for all police personnel to be escorted around the prison in future.
CASE STUDY 2
39. – It is likely that the division of the two staff groups is based on more than job title and description. It may be that there are differences in general education and professional qualifications;
39. – In order to create a cohesive workforce it is important that the staff groups come together to collaborate in a common cause. This could be achieved through training and also through the setting up of working parties involving members of the various groups cooperating on a joint project;
39. – A more far-reaching development would be to open up entry into the various specialisms for the whole prison staff through a programme of education and training. This would be a move away from rigid entry requirements and towards a widening of opportunities for willing and able staff to improve themselves while in post;
39. – The international instruments stress that the best security lies in all staff establishing good working relationships with prisoners.
CASE STUDY 3
39. – The change will start with proper entry requirements, not so high that they exclude potentially able individuals, but high enough to give the job some status and respect within the community;
39. – A training programme for all new entrants will need to be devised, with emphasis from the start on human rights responsibilities. It is essential that these are internalized, rather than paid lip service to, if the aim is to be achieved;
39. – It is necessary to give prison staff a role and a sense of purpose if they are to perform this often difficult, but essential, task on behalf of the whole community.
CASE STUDY 4
39. – Providing accommodation for prison staff separate from the rest of the community can be justified in terms of proximity to the prison and convenience for the shift system, but there is a danger to this arrangement. A ghetto mentality is easily developed. Strained relationships can be caused by people living and working in close proximity. This can cause breakdowns in the team spirit in the prison, with quite serious results;
39. – It is probably preferable for prison staff to live among the other members of the community in as normal an environment as it is possible to achieve;
39. – If this cannot be achieved in the short term, it is sensible for the prison director to encourage his staff to develop social and cultural links with the community.
This is both for continued good relationships among the staff team and for the reputation and standing of the prison in the community.
CASE STUDY 5
39. – It is quite wrong that prison staff should ever be put in this compromising and humiliating position;
39. – The international instruments are quite clear on this issue: prison staff should have a salary and other conditions of service that reflect the difficult work which society requires of them;
39. – The prison director must tackle the serious shortfall in his staff’s working conditions with his superiors and insist that immediate and urgent attention be given to the problem;
39. – The director also has a prison to run and a duty to perform. He must communicate to his staff that he is aware of the problem facing all of them and that he is taking urgent and relevant steps to put it right. In the meantime, however, the director must insist that the staff observe the rules of the prison and do not collaborate with prisoners. The penalty is removal from post.